The black industrialists whose funding has been approved by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) to the tune of R157 million for two manufacturing projects say they will create more than 1 000 sustainable jobs in the Eastern Cape and inject more than R800 million into the province’s economy.

The CEO of Kenako Medical, Mr Jonas Gutu says his medical devices and pharmaceutical company will be setting up a medical equipment manufacturing plant at the Coega Industrial Development Zone in Port Elizabeth after being approved for a grant of R50m from the Black Industrialists Incentive Scheme and R75m from the National Empowerment Fund.

The factory will start with the manufacture of safety syringes, which have a mechanism that prevents re-use, thereby preventing the transmission of blood-borne bacteria and viruses like HIV, Ebola and the Zika. Other medical devices will be brought online within three to five years of the plant start-up

“More than 300 people will be employed within the first year of operations in the R300m project. About 1 000 people will be employed during the construction of the medical devices factory. About 75 matriculants will be enrolled in a learnership programme, which will feed into the labour pool for the plant. Other product lines will be introduced within three to five years of the plant’s operation, resulting in the employment of more than 1 000 people on a full-time basis,” says Gutu.

He adds that the project will generate a lot of exports revenue as 75% of their annual production will be exported to countries in the northern hemisphere. Close to 95% of raw materials will be sourced locally. The construction of the plant is set to commence during third quarter of 2017, and the plant will be fully operational before the end of 2018.

The Co-Founders and Joint-CEOs of Nciba Grain Group, Prince Vulithuba Bandile Sangoni and Mr Maxhobayakualeza Batande Ngamlana say the 32 000tons capacity maize milling plant that they are setting up in Qokolweni Village in Mthatha will create up to 90 new jobs and contribute approximately R4.5m per annum into the local economy.

“This is a R33 million green field project for which the dti has approved R8.5m from the Black Industrialists Incentive Scheme for its funding with the Land Bank committing “in-principle” approximately R24.5m. We are in the process of finalising the due diligence with the Land Bank in this regard,” says Ngamlana.

He adds that the mill will be powered by a waste-to-energy plant, an additional R60m investment by Apple Green Environmental, making it the only off-grid maize milling plant in South Africa. These two plants will be located on the same site in Qokolweni village. The maize milling plant will be operational by the third quarter of 2017.

Sangoni says the project will benefit communal smallholder maize farmers from Qokolweni and the other 21 villages that form part of the Sangoni Traditional Council.

“The project is not only in line with government’s rural economic development objectives, but it will also contribute to IPAP’s objectives for decentralised industrialisation and the Wild Coast SEZ programme. In addition to creating employment, it will empower local maize farmers to upscale their production and farm commercially. Empowering and skilling them is part of our plans. We are already working with two local farming cooperatives from whom we will be sourcing maize as soon as the plant goes into operation,” adds Prince Sangoni.

The duo say they have also negotiated an off-take deal with Boxer Stores for the maize mealie meal that they will produce from the mill, as well as with Epol for the hominy chop that will be the residue from the milling process. In addition, Nciba Grain Group is working on a commercial agreement with a Free State-based miller to produce their brand of maize mealie meal and samp in Qokolweni.